# NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 5 AC-7(2) — Purge Or Wipe Mobile Device

- Source: https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/nist-sp-800-53-rev-5/ac-7-2-purge-or-wipe-mobile-device
- Section: [Compliance](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance) › [NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 5 Controls](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/nist-sp-800-53-rev-5) › AC — Access Control
- Last updated: 2026-06-05
- Publisher: iCompaas, Inc. (https://www.icompaas.com)

**NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 5**·Control `AC-7(2)`·high·Component: **Access Control**

## What this control requires

> Purge or wipe data from mobile devices after a defined number of consecutive unsuccessful logon attempts, using organization-specified techniques to protect sensitive information. This control supports the Mobile Device Management System capability within the Access Control family.
> 
> — NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 5, Control AC-7(2)

### In plain English

Purge or wipe data from mobile devices after a defined number of consecutive unsuccessful logon attempts, using organization-specified techniques to protect sensitive information. In practice, this means you can prove you access management-level controls on a defined cadence.

## Why it matters

SP 800-53 is the catalogue every U.S. federal authorisation (FedRAMP, FISMA, CMMC) and most regulated industries point at. A missing control surfaces as a Plan of Action & Milestones (POA&M) item that an Authorizing Official must approve before the Authority To Operate is granted or renewed.

This control is rated **high**. Auditors expect a named owner, a remediation SLA, and a tooling artefact that evidences continuous operation.

## What an auditor looks for

A 3PAO (FedRAMP) or Independent Assessor (NIST RMF) tests against NIST SP 800-53A assessment procedures. For each control they expect a documented implementation that addresses every assessment objective (Examine, Interview, Test) and an implementation summary in the System Security Plan.

Within **Access Control**, the assessor will trace your implementation back to the catalogue reference (Control AC-7(2)) and look for objective evidence on the latest two assessment cycles.

## How to implement

#### Endpoint Protection

**MDM.** Make MDM enrollment a hard gate for device access (Intune compliance + Conditional Access, or Jamf + Okta device trust). Unmanaged devices simply don't get a session token.

**EDR.** Deploy CrowdStrike / SentinelOne / Defender for Endpoint to every server and laptop; alert on any host that stops sending telemetry for >24h.

### Operational checklist

-   **Access.** Document the trigger, the owner and the cadence.
-   **Information.** Document the trigger, the owner and the cadence.
-   **Security.** Document the trigger, the owner and the cadence.
-   **Data.** Document the trigger, the owner and the cadence.
-   **Unsuccessful.** Document the trigger, the owner and the cadence.
-   **Scope:** management, access control, information, organization, system, logon attempts, wipe mobile device, mobile devices.

## Evidence to collect

-   **User Device Scan.** MDM compliance state per user device (Intune / Jamf / Workspace ONE).

Endpoint compliance telemetry (Intune, Jamf) proves managed coverage. Focus: Purge Or Wipe Mobile Device.

## Common pitfalls

-   Pilot MDM rollouts that quietly exclude executives or engineers; carving out the highest-risk users is the most common audit failure.

## How it maps to other frameworks

Computed from shared tags, control component and key-operation subjects — handy when you are reconciling controls across an audit.

-   [**NIST SP 800-171 Rev. 3 3.1.18** — Access Control for Mobile Devices](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/nist-sp-800-171-rev-3/3-1-18-access-control-for-mobile-devices)

## Related controls in NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 5

-   [**Control AC-19** — Access Control For Mobile Devices](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/nist-sp-800-53-rev-5/ac-19-access-control-for-mobile-devices)
-   [**Control AC-19(4)** — Restrictions For Classified Information](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/nist-sp-800-53-rev-5/ac-19-4-restrictions-for-classified-information)
-   [**Control AC-16(8)** — Association Techniques And Technologies](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/nist-sp-800-53-rev-5/ac-16-8-association-techniques-and-technologies)
-   [**Control AC-11(1)** — Pattern-Hiding Displays](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/nist-sp-800-53-rev-5/ac-11-1-pattern-hiding-displays)
-   [**Control AC-9(4)** — Additional Logon Information](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/nist-sp-800-53-rev-5/ac-9-4-additional-logon-information)
-   [**Control AC-17(1)** — Monitoring And Control](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/nist-sp-800-53-rev-5/ac-17-1-monitoring-and-control)

## References

-   [NIST Computer Security Resource Center — NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 5](https://csrc.nist.gov/Projects/risk-management/sp800-53-controls)
-   Catalogue identifier: `Control AC-7(2)`

Topics: endpoint securityendpoint protection

## Related compliance guidance

- [NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 5: a practical implementation guide for cloud teams](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/nist-sp-800-53-rev-5): Start with the full NIST SP 800-53 implementation guide — scope, roadmap, evidence and how the assessment runs.
- [NIST SP 800-171 and CMMC: a practical guide to protecting CUI in the cloud](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/nist-sp-800-171-rev-3): If your obligation is protecting CUI in your own systems for a federal or defence contract, this derived subset — not the full catalogue — is the requirement.
- [SOC 2 compliance: a practical implementation guide for cloud-native SaaS teams](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/soc-2-trust-services-criteria): Most commercial SaaS already hold a SOC 2 Type 2, and FedRAMP 20x Class A is designed for providers that have one.
